Unknown Demense
by DetectiveLion
Summary: Revenge has been waiting for too long, and it's time for an old enemy to strike back. What starts as a few ghostly robberies soon becomes something much bigger, that threatens not only Danny's secret, but the lives of those around him.


Fighting ghosts was considerably more fun when you had an enormous green dog on your side.

Danny whooped triumphantly as he watched Cujo sink his teeth into Skulkers good arm and tear it free. The metal skidded across the road, sending up sparks while the ghost stumbled back. A blast from Sam's ectopistol had him falling. He didn't even hit the ground before Tucker sucked him into the thermos in a whirl of blue light.

With the threat gone, Cujo shrank back into the form of a puppy, all bright eyes and wagging tail. Danny settled down beside him, scooping the ghost dog into his arms. "Good boy," he praised. He was using the voice reserved for cute animals. "Good boy, eating Skulker. Does he make a good chew toy? Yes he does." Delighted by the approval, the dog gave an excited yip.

Sam and Tucker exchanged grins as they watched their friend dote. "I don't want to interrupt this wonderful bonding moment," Tucker cut in, "but we've still got like three more ghosts to catch."

"Uh-huh," Danny said, distracted by scratching the dog's ears. He glanced up to look them in the eyes. "Oh, right. Whoops. I guess Skulker's plan of having his pets attack me backfired."

"Having the ghost-boy's dog in the attack squad probably wasn't the best idea." Sam smirked. She kept the pistol in her hands, eyes wary of more ghosts. Finally, Danny set the dog back onto the ground. A quick order from him had Cujo snuffling in the air before his ears perked and he was racing down the street, the trio in hot pursuit.

It was another two hours by the time they'd caught the remaining ghosts: a pair of four-eyed tigers (eight eyes altogether) and a single large rat. It was past curfew, but for once Danny didn't worry.

The ever-lit FentonWorks sign illuminated the street. Danny grabbed his dog once more, turning to his friends. "Be back in a minute," he said, before vanishing from sight.

It only took a minute in the end, as his parents were not on the lookout for Danny Fenton that night. They'd turned in to bed already, believing their son wouldn't be back until the next evening. So there was nothing stopping him from slipping into the lab, plugging the thermos in and releasing the ghosts back into their home world.

He spent a smug moment watching them spiral into the Ghost Zone, then looked back to his dog. "Already, buddy," he sighed. He tried to ignore the twinge of regret. "Go home now."

Cujo gave him one last bark before wriggling free of the ghost boy's grip and zipping into the portal of his own volition.

Only seconds later, he was flying through the front door, solidifying beside his friends. "Ready for one more trip?" He asked them. They put their arms around his neck and held fast as he lifted into the air.

"And you're sure your parents won't be back?" Tucker asked. The worry in his tone was understandable. Jeremy and Pamela Manson detested 'that Foley boy' nearly as much as 'that Fenton kid.' As two-faced and fake Sam's parents were, Pamela's acrylic nails were quite frightening when you realized how easily they could draw blood.

As Danny phased them through the walls of the mansion, Sam answered, "Of course I'm sure. Believe me, this is a _business opportunity." _She mimicked her Dad's voice. "They won't be back until they're sure they've sucked their victim dry. It'll be another week before they're back _at least."_

Safely on the ground, they stepped back and away from Danny. A flash of light turned Phantom to Fenton, and the teens exchanged joyous looks. "In other words, we've got an entire mansion to ourselves," Danny grinned.

"Not _quite _to yourselves." They collectively gasped and whirled around, only to relax when they saw the speaker. Sam's grandmother hobbled past, flashing her granddaughter a mischievous smile. "If you three trash the place, I'm not giving you a dollar to pay for the cleanup. That's on you, misters." She waved her cane good-naturedly before continuing on her way.

"We won't wreck the place," Danny assured her, voice exasperated yet warm.

"Says the kid banned from handling glassware in the science lab," Tucker murmured. He yelped as Danny jabbed an elbow into his stomach. Rubbing his belly and wincing, he grumbled, "I'm just saying. As far as she's concerned, your word comes with a pinch of salt."

Sensing Danny's mood drop, Sam stepped forward for damage control. "Ooo-kay, who's up for a three-way fistfest on the new gamestation I got last week?" She smiled winningly, feeling the tension dissipate in an instant.

"You mean," Tucker began.

"_The_ new gamestation?" Danny continued.

"The one that reacts according to your _pulse?"_

"And super high-definition graphics?"

Sam crossed her arms, trying not to roll her eyes. "On the big flatscreen TV," she said, smiling faintly.

And that was the end of that, for both boys grabbed her arms and dragged her down the stairs, eager for a night of mindless gaming.

* * *

><p>Danny was surprised when he woke up, sprawled on the floor in a pile of blankets. Loud snoring told him Tucker was a few feet behind him. And Sam…<p>

His face grew warm as he lifted his eyes. She was lying almost right beside him, still in last night's clothes. Her hair was a mess, falling in her face and curling on its own. Her makeup was smudged, a smear of purple lipstick at the corner of her mouth. Blue eyes fell to her hand, where the skin was stained with the same color.

Really, he thought to himself, she was a mess. A cute one.

And she'd hit him for thinking that.

As though disturbed by his thoughts, Sam stirred and opened her eyes. She looked just as shocked to see him as he'd been a moment ago. Still, Danny tried for a smile. "Morning," he murmured. He spoke quietly, though there wasn't much point in it. Tucker could sleep through a tornado.

Sam's eyelids lowered as her lips lifted. "Morning. What time is it?"

Danny shrugged. There were no windows to let light in, and the only clock in the room was on the television-currently turned off. "Honestly I don't even remember when we fell asleep." He grimaced and added, "Or how. I mean I've fought the Fright Night and I don't think I've been so scared."

Her smile was wicked. "I know," she gushed, "That scene with the axe man? Brutal."

"And then we had to hide in the closet! And when he _found us-_"

"-Tucker screamed like a little girl!" They fell into quiet laughter, barely noticing the loud snort and yawn as Tucker finally regained consciousness. They were only just recovering from their fit of laughter when he cleared his throat loudly. At the sight of their friend, the two only started snickering again.

He crossed his arms, glaring at them. "I don't know what you're laughing at, but I know it's something I did."

"Can't say you're wrong." Danny snickered.

It took a while for them to roll out of their respective blanket piles. Sam retreated into the bathroom to get ready for the day, leaving the boys to get dressed on their own. When she reappeared, her hair was brushed and her makeup washed off and redone. She tossed a brush to Danny, who caught it without a word. Tucker snorted at him. As someone who simply shaved his hair when it got too long and too curly, people who used hairbrushes were considered weak and inferior.

They were just cleaning up breakfast when Danny's breath rushed out of him, pulled back in a sharp gasp. His eyes caught the flicker of blue.

His friends' faces were grim when he turned to them. "Here's hoping it's just another of Old McDonald's," Danny growled. Sam and Tucker squinted against the rings of pure light, regaining vision just in time to see Danny vanish through the ceiling.

They exchanged weary gazes before booking it to the front door, weapons in hand.

Danny hovered above the Manson household, glaring around the street. In the distance, he could see a green figure flitting away. Another breath left him just before something crashed into him from behind.

He toppled off the roof, falling a few feet before shedding gravity. The pure green specter was racing away. Just as he heard the door open far below, Danny launched himself after it.

Whatever this one was, it moved quickly. Its tail flickered madly, zigzagging across the sky to keep Danny from getting too close. He shouted in frustration and let energy build in his hands. When he thrust them forward, rays of green light flew towards the ghost.

It banked suddenly, shooting towards the ground with Danny in hot pursuit. He pulled off just above the street. Cars honked, heads and cellphones poking out of windows to catch a glimpse of Amity's most recent assailant. It flew straight for a building, and Phantom went intangible in preparation to fly straight through the wall. Then it pulled up. The ghost boy went through a window and several more rooms before gaining enough control to redirect himself.

He gritted his teeth and shot back outside, into the sunlight and the waiting arms of an enormous blue polar bear.

A shout escaped his mouth as he shoved himself away. The bears jaws snapped shut where his head had been only moments before. He spun in a circle, realizing with building dread that he was surrounded. Ghosts, both animal and humanoid had formed a ring around him.

Danny ducked to avoid a myriad of ghost rays, sending one of his own. The intended target jumped aside, only for the girl behind him to take the blow.

He grabbed his thermos, sucking her inside. Then pain exploded in the back of his head. He cried out, toppling forward to have a fist nail him in the stomach, a ghost ray hitting him in the back at the same time. Miraculously, he kept his hold on the thermos. Danny panted as he twisted around, firing another shot from his free hand. It scattered the crowd of no less than seven ghosts, but not a single one was hit.

A glowing eagle came at him from the side, only to be dispatched by a bolt of energy. The thermos caught it as it fell, and Danny turned to block a punch. He hoisted his feet up, giving a cry as he kicked the ghost away and into another.

He capped the thermos after capturing them as well. That was three down. Four more to go. But where... He looked up, and muttered a curse. Then he turned and dove for the ground, a bear and three other ghosts chasing after him. A hand grasped his tail and yanked him back, too fast for him to go intangible. Another ghost latched onto his arm, a third getting him in a choke hold. And the bear roared as it prepared to claw his face off.

Cold pulsed at his core, where his heart should have been. He closed his eyes, feeling the chill crawl through his veins, to the very tips of his fingers and toes. And with a final scream, the blue energy burst free. Four ghosts were suddenly encased in ice, and Danny was still in their grasp. Gravity would not be denied any longer.

He plummeted, panic flaring in his chest. A blast of energy freed one arm, enough to grasp his thermos and suck the frozen spooks away. He turned in midair, catching his freshly-made bearsicle before it hit the ground.

Exhausted, the ghost boy headed for Sam's.

He met up with his friends halfway there. They spotted him from above, slipping around a corner to wait for him to pick them up. Tired as he was, he only said "I'll explain later," at Sam's worried inquiries.

He set them down and all but collapsed onto the couch. By the time he hit the cushions, his hair was black and his eyes were blue. The couch dipped as his friends joined him, flanking his sides comfortingly.

"You alright, man?" Tucker asked.

Danny sighed. He reached for the remote, flipping on the TV. "Fine," he answered. "Just tired. I had to use a lot of energy. There were _eight _ghosts. I chased one across the city before running into a freaking ambush!" He sat up, only for Sam to put her hand on his chest and push him back.

"Easy there, tiger," Sam warned. Her expression was stern, but concerned. "You said there was an ambush?"

Tucker leaned forward. "So what did they want?"

The blue eyes boy shrugged in defeat. "Heck if I know. To beat me up? They weren't ghosts I recognized, but I guess that's not surprising. I've kicked enough spectral butt to last a lifetime; there's no way I'd remember all of them."

As he spoke, Tucker began fiddling with the television. Channel after channel flickered on the screen while Sam went on, "So they want revenge? It's strange that they're all so... organized."

"Maybe they're finally figuring out it takes more than one to beat me." Danny couldn't mask the pride in his voice.

Sam didn't look so sure. "I dunno. They've never done this before. Whenever the smaller ghosts are organized, there's a bigger one behind it. Like Skulker last night."

Danny huffed. "Maybe," he conceded.

Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by an "Uh, guys," from Tucker. They glanced at him, and he only pointed to the screen in response.

He'd landed on a news channel. A dark haired woman was in front of the camera, standing in front of what looked like a hardware store. "...stolen from the store," she was saying. "We're not sure what the ghosts wanted with these supplies. Across town, another group raided the new wing being built in the mall, which has been under construction for several weeks. Finally, it has been reported that Danny Phantom was dealing with a third group, explaining why he was absent at both other scenes. Whether or not these attacks are tied is currently unknown." She went on for a while longer before directing the show to the traffic report.

Danny's hands clenched into fists. "So that was it," he growled. "They were distracting me. And I _fell _for it!"

"In order to rob a hardware store and a construction site?" Tucker tapped his fingers on his knee, staring intently at the television screen. "What would ghosts want with that crap?"

Sam had placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, lost in her own thoughts as her friend struggled to calm himself down. Then she shook her head. "I can't think of anything. And I doubt they just wanted to cause some general terror."

Danny stood, face set in determination. "Well I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on." Before he could turn to Phantom again, both Sam and Tucker grabbed his wrists.

"Oooh no," Sam warned, shaking her head.

"You've got an English report due," Tucker said. "And I'd bet anything you haven't even started."

Danny gave a soft groan and let his friends drag him away.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, it has been a long time since I've put up a story here. Congratulations, you're reading the first story I've published on in... several months, at least. <strong>

**I haven't done much for Danny Phantom in the past, but after rewatching the show I decided to give it a shot. How'd I do on the characters? Dialogue? Is my writing good? Tips and constructive criticism are highly appreciated!**

**With luck, there'll be more for this story soon.**


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